Quote:
Originally Posted by dknightx
I have no idea. There are a myriad of possibilities. Regardless, if you are saying that someone being dead (I'll have to trust your definition, you are the doctor afterall) for 3 days and then coming back to life through natural means, is completely impossible, then i'll need you to back up that assertion.
I believe I agree with the famed theist Dinesh D'Souza in what he says on this page of his book "What's so great about Christianity":
http://books.google.com/books?id=vVX...page&q&f=false
(hopefully the link works, i would hate to have to type it out)
The link does work, but I (of course) disagree with the author.
To begin with, the first few days after death aren't so great for the human body.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decomposition#Fresh Cells all over die. Organs dies. Bacteria take over the body. Flies begin to lay eggs. Even if we ignore the bacteria and flies, the rampant cell death could not be overcome. You'd be asking the brain to start up again even with much of the cells dead. The heart muscles and muscles for breathing -- how could they still work?
I imagine it was hot where Jesus died (it was Israel, right?), so the decomposition process would certainly be moving ahead at full steam.
If we ignore this, we should examine how Jesus died.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruxifixion#Cause_of_death
If it was blood loss, the blood would have to be replaced in order for him to be alive again. If it was sepsis, the bacteria would have to all die off and the damage from the bacteria would have to be reversed. How could either of these have happened?
I can't back up that it's truly impossible. But I also can't show that it's truly impossible for an avalanche of snow to reverse and move up a mountain. Given all we know, however, there's just no other holdable position on the matter. Go ahead and ask every doctor/biologist you know. See what answers you get.